San Antonio, TX — North Dakota has travelled far and wide to start its softball season. The team has started better than last year, holding a 12-8 record on Mar. 1. Through the first month of the campaign, the Hawks have flown to Hawaii, Kentucky, California, and Texas, touring the nation before conference play begins at the end of March.
In 2025, UND failed to eclipse 10 wins until Mar. 8; in fact, it had just lost its tenth game a week before. The team kept above .500 for a few weeks at the start, but fell below the mark until Mar. 9, when it picked up its eleventh win. Last year’s Fighting Hawks struggled in the regular season, ending with a record of 26-30.
Shaking the Cold
The first games for North Dakota came in the first week of February, when it travelled to Honolulu to take part in the Paradise Classic. Despite winning their first game against the University of the Pacific, the Hawks failed to take another win away until they faced the Tigers for a second time on Feb. 7.
Between its games with Pacific, UND lost three in the island capital, two against Seattle University and one against the University of Hawai’i. Seattle handed the Hawks their biggest loss of the season so far, a whopping 23-7 beating.
Senior Katelyn Neumayer looked good over the 5-game span, taking five runs from 13 at-bats. The infielder recorded a 100% fielding percentage in Honolulu, contributing to her solid road trip.
Sunny San Diego
On a single-game win streak, North Dakota rolled into San Diego looking to find its big wave. It found one when it beat Fordham 3-2 but quickly went underwater for the rest of the Compton/Cartier Classic.
UND failed to score in the last 4 games in San Diego, running into trouble after facing San Diego State, Baylor, and Oregon State, as well as its second game against Fordham.
In the game against Baylor on Feb. 14, Katelyn Neumeyer featured prominently once again for the Hawks. The senior recorded a team-high 14 putouts, doing her part in the close game.
Killing It in Kentucky
In the Velvet Milkman Classic, North Dakota won 5 straight games, bolstering its early-season record. UND Head Coach Jordan Stevens described the streak as “really impressive” for the team.
On the road trip, the Hawks faced Green Bay and Murray State twice, as well as IU Indy. On average, North Dakota allowed under 3 runs per game, while scoring an average of nearly 6. UND’s biggest victory came on Feb. 20 against Green Bay, in a 9-4 decision.
Against IU Indy on the final day of play, the Hawks recorded 15 hits. Camryn Lasota (Sr.) led the charge with three, while 4 other North Dakota players recorded at least two hits. Taya Hopfauf (Sr.) and Katelyn Neumeyer both recorded home runs in the third inning against the Jaguars.
“[It’s tough] to win five games in a weekend against different opponents,” said Stevens after returning to Grand Forks. “It was a good bounce back for us after a challenging weekend with good competition out in San Diego.”
Hawks in the Alamo City
Over the weekend of Feb. 27-Mar. 1, the Fighting Hawks flew down to San Antonio, Texas, to take part in the Birds Up Bash. UND only lost one game down south, a 4-0 decision in favor of UTSA.
The most prolific win for North Dakota came on Saturday, Feb. 28, when it vanquished UT Arlington 16-8. The season-high 16 runs came in the first of two games that day, with the Hawks going on to their biggest win of the season, a 12-3 triumph against Saint Francis University.
Jordan Stevens picked up his 200th win as a Fighting Hawk in the earlier game on Feb. 28, undoubtedly pleased with his team’s performance.
The Bethune sisters shone for North Dakota in the second win of the day, contributing their bats to the 12 runs scored by the traveling side. Hailey Bethune (Jr.) tallied three hits with two RBIs in four at-bats, scoring two runs, while Chloe Bethune (So.) — fresh off a three-run homer in the earlier game — also picked up two RBIs for the Hawks in her four chances at the plate.
Next Up:
UND takes to the field in Norfolk, Va., on Mar. 6 for the first of five games in the Spartan Round-Up. The Fighting Hawks will take on FDU in their first matchup, after which they face off against Norfolk State once and Holy Cross twice, bookending a second game against FDU.
North Dakota Softball will return to Albrecht Field on Mar. 25, when the Hawks take on Dakota State in a pair of games. The Summit League schedule starts on Mar. 27 at South Dakota State, where UND will try to open conference play strongly, improving from a 7-11 record last season.
Anthony Dillett is a Dakota Student Sports Reporter. He can be reached at [email protected] and on X @adillettgf.